The Town Where I Am Missing: Now I Am Found
by AvatarfanDillonKurosaki
Summary: Satoru has woken from his 15 year coma. Follow him as he tries to piece back his memories and recover broken connections. And follow his romance with a girl he once only dreamed of saving. Note: Based primarily on the manga, so please read the manga first!
1. Chapter 1

**Erased/Boku dake ga Inai Machi**

 **KayoXSatoru**

 **Chapter 1: 15 years**

*Authors note: _1st, I'd like to say that this series was so excellent as it was that it surpassed so many other longer more detailed anime. I loved every minute of it and was always excited to move onto the next episode. However, this brings me to my second point: I am not writing this based on the anime! I am writing this based on the manga comic, which differed in many significant ways from the anime, as most shows do. And finally, to the AiriXSatoru fans out there, I don't have a problem with this shipping, it's just not ideal to me because of how little time was truly spent on it. I do have a grand appreciation for their relationship and its implications in both the show and the manga, but it just felt so forced, whereas Kayo and Satoru just blended together so naturally. So, without further ado, please, read and review and I hope you enjoy reading as much as I enjoy writing._

The lights in the room were excruciatingly bright as he opened his eyes, causing him to rapidly close them again. His head throbbed painfully in the frontal lobe as he tried to comprehend exactly who he was and where he was. As he tried to open his eyes again, he also tried lifting his arm up to his head and found that, as soon as his arm lifted, he became too tired to continue raising it above his head, so he let it drop back down the bed.

 _Am I in a bed?_ he thought. _I feel blankets and sheets, and I feel pillows beneath my head. I must be in a bed. But, how did I get in bed? And where is this bed?_

"Good morning, Satoru," came a soft voice from a woman as he lie in his bed.

 _A woman? Who is she? Is Satoru my name?_

All these thoughts raged through his mind as he dared to open his eyes again. His eyes roamed aimlessly around the room, drifting this way and that until he finally landed on a woman standing in the opening of the room he was in. He squinted hard, trying to focus, but also trying to keep the light from burning his retinas as well.

 _Who is this woman? How does she know me? Where am I? Why am I here?_ his mind raced over and over again as he closed his eyes and returned to the dark depths, far from the room where the woman called his name.

*********** **_Erased_** ******

He felt himself drifting further and further away from the woman who'd been calling his name. As he drifted into the distance darkness beyond, he began to dream a familiar, yet horrifying dream. He remembered a woman, much like the one who'd called to him, lying on the floor with a knife in her back; he remembered her blood on his hands; he remembered another, much younger girl he'd been reading about in a book he'd gotten; he remembered talking to her as a child. The dream felt so real, as though he could reach out and touch the girl, whose face he couldn't quite see through the haze.

Suddenly, his entire body felt ice cold and he heard the sound of rushing water, his lungs burning as he held his breath, the water brushing against his nose and rising above his head rapidly as he struggled to focus and get out of the water.

 _Why am I underwater?_ he wondered, finding a deep, inner calm despite the terrifying drowning feeling. _What's going on? Is this really a dream, or is it something else?_

As he tried to contemplate these things, he felt his vision in the dream beginning to fade and his entire body going limp as he lost all the strength to struggle anymore. He felt his body finally force him to pull in a breath, inhaling a massive amount of the ice cold water as he lost his conscious ability to hold his breath. As the darkness enveloped him, pulling him deeper and making him feel colder, he cried out in his mind, trying to urge himself onward.

 _No!_ he shouted to himself, trying to will his body to move and escape the force that was holding him in this icy water. _No! You have to get up! You can't die yet! I won't let you!_

As suddenly as the world completely faded, he found himself plunged back into an all white world so bright that his eyes burned and his head throbbed from the brilliant lights. He gasped for breath as though he'd truly been drowning or suffocating, drawing in deep breaths and trying as hard as he could to convince his body that he was no longer drowning. As his senses returned to him, he heard multiple strange voices around him, getting closer and clearer with every beat of his heart, which rang in his ears like a heavy bass drum.

He darted his eyes around, despite the pain, frantically trying to get his bearings and trying to convince himself that he was truly out of the water. He could make out the silhouettes of three people, one in a lab coat and a dark uniform underneath while the other two had pink uniforms with pink hats on. He tried harder and harder to focus, causing him an even larger headache as he strained to hear the conversation they were having as well.

"-finally awake, huh?" the lab coat man said, softly, Satoru heard.

"It's been 15 years, sir," came one of the women in the pink uniforms. "Do you think he'll be able to be rehabilitated and reintegrated with society?"

 _15 years?!_ he shouted in his mind, his eyes shooting straight to the front as his mind frantically surged to process the new information. _Are they really talking about me? How could I just sleep for 15 years?!_

As his mind continued to race, the doctor took notice of his patient being awake and walked over to him, leaning over him to look into his eyes.

"Hello?" the doctor said softly, meeting Satoru's eyes. "Mr. Fujinuma, can you hear me?"

Satoru looked into the man's eyes momentarily before opening his mouth to speak before he realized that, no matter what he wanted to say, his voice would not cooperate with him.

"Your vocal chords are still paralyzed slightly, as is much of your body," the doctor explained as he scribbled notes on his clipboard. "You see, after being in a coma for the last 15 years, your body is still starting itself back up."

Satoru found the strength and nodded to the doctor to indicate he understood.

"Very good," said the doctor, pulling his stethoscope up to listen to Satoru's lungs. "Well, your lungs sound just fine. If you ask me, I'd say you're as healthy as possible, for someone in your conditions."

He nodded again to the doctor to indicate he was listening as he stared off into the distance.

"So tell me, can you remember anything?" the doctor asked after a few more examinations.

He shook his head slightly as he was examined further.

"Alright. Can't expect too much after 15 years."

Satoru felt a wave of depression hit him as he stared off into the distance, his mind wandering to places so distant, he couldn't even hear the doctor anymore.

"Mr. Fujinuma?" he heard the doctor calling him. "Mr. Fujinuma? Are you still able to hear me?"

He nodded again, turning his eyes to face the blur that was his doctor.

"Would you like to see your reflection?" the doctor asked, slightly hesitant as he grabbed the handle to a personal mirror. After a few moments, Satoru nodded and the doctor lifted the mirror so that he could see himself.

 _How skinny_ he heard himself say, internally. As it registered in his mind, his mind began to race again. _'How skinny?' Why did I think that? Why not 'Is that really me?' or 'How old?'? Who, or what, am I?_

He nodded to his doctor again to indicate he was finished with the mirror before it was promptly taken from him as a nurse in pink uniform brought him a tray to spread across his bed. As Satoru began to wonder why they were giving him a tray without any food on it, he saw a familiar figure in the doorway. He saw the woman from his room he'd been in when he woke the first time, this time holding a rather large stack of bento boxes as she walked into his room.

"Are you hungry, Satoru?" she asked with a smile as she walked in. As he nodded, he could tell she'd been crying a lot recently by the puffiness of her eyelids and how bloodshot her eyes were.

 _Who am I to this woman?_ he wondered as she set the boxes in front of him.

"I made your favorite from when you were little," she explained as she opened the boxes revealing her special, hamburgers and fried rice. "You used to beg me for this after school, every day."

As she tried to contain her sobs, he looked down at the box before him, the smells urging him to recall some distant memory just beyond the cusp of his capability.

"M..." he began, turning his head to face the woman.

His mother, not really hearing him, continued to pull the boxes from the bag and set one aside for the doctor.

"Mo..." he tried again, pushing himself so hard he could feel himself sweating at the exertion. As he watched her continue pulling chopsticks and silverware out of the bag, still clearly unable to hear him, he mustered the last of his strength, forcing all the air he could from his lungs in one last attempt.

"Mom?!" he asked, very much louder than he'd intended but he found himself indifferent to the volume as he watched his mother freeze with her hands on his tray, setting down chopsticks. He felt a damn burst within him, relief and sadness washing over him in quantities he couldn't quite understand, and his eyes filled to overflowing with tears almost instantly as he saw his mother slowly look up at him, tears in her eyes as well.

"Satoru..." she said, softly, bringing her hands to her mouth as the tears streamed down her face and she began to sob in joy. "My baby boy..."


	2. Chapter 2

**Erased/Boku dake ga Inai Machi**

 **KayoXSatoru**

 **Chapter 2: Waiting At The Christmas Tree**

The girl could still remember the day that their teacher, Mr. Yashiro, walked into the classroom, a solemn look on his face as he told the entire class that Satoru had been involved in a terrible murder attempt and that his murderer had escaped. She couldn't remember having ever cried so hard in her entire life as she collapsed to the ground in the middle of the class, curling into the fetal position as she screamed so hard her body shook. She remembered Misato getting up and helping her up as she grabbed her bag and coat, running from the room as fast as her legs would carry her.

 _It can't be true!_ she thought to herself as she ran. She ran as quickly as she could and, before she knew it, she was at his door, pounding away on the door as she screamed his name over and over again, until, suddenly, the door opened and she collapsed into Sachiko, who looked down at the young girl who'd collapsed into her and stroked her hair, gently, trying to show the girl strength as she herself was nearly too broken inside to even consider going outside. As she tried to console the girl, Kayo was up and running through the small home, yelling for Satoru, telling him to come out and stop playing this game.

"Kayo," Sachiko had said, her voice soft but stern at the same time, causing Kayo to look at her, truly look at her, since she'd arrived.

"It can't be true," Kayo said, weakly, her knees collapsing from beneath her as she fell down onto her back. "He can't be in the hospital. I promised him I'd see him today! We made a promise to see each other again!"

With that, the girl used what little strength she had to curl back into the fetal position and cry in the middle of the floor, next to the futon where he'd slept the night they'd all spent together here. She could still smell his familiar scent from the bedding, which was still lain out on the floor from the night before when he'd been home last.

"Satoru," Kayo whispered as she closed her eyes again and fell asleep from the exhaustion on the floor beside the futon.

The next day, Kayo awoke to find herself in Sachiko's house still and the sound and smell of breakfast being made by Sachiko. She began to smile as she sat up, rubbing her eyes, before her memory rushed back to her and she froze, there, holding her knees to her chest as the tears began to flow again. As she began to sob aloud, Sachiko walked into the bedroom and knelt down in front of the girl, heavy bags showing under the woman's eyes as it became apparent to Kayo that she hadn't been sleeping since the accident.

As the two sat, silently supporting one another through their hardship, Sachiko gently wrapped her arms around the girl, holding her close to her chest as she rocked back and forth, resting her chin on top of the girl's head.

"Shhhh..." she whispered to her, feeling the fresh tears beginning to roll down her cheeks onto Kayo's head as her face contorted into sheer agony while she held back the sobs.

Together, the woman and the girl cried in each other's arms for nearly half an hour, rocking gently back and forth and clinging to each other for dear life.

After the long cry-fest, Sachiko brought the girl to the table where she'd prepared rice, eggs and bacon for breakfast, which were all slightly cold from how long they'd waited to come get them, but both ate the food without complaint. As soon as they were done, Kayo helped her get through the dishes before she went to the bedroom and laid out the blankets on the futon again.

"Kayo," Sachiko said softly to the young girl, who was preparing to put on her boots and go home.

"Yes ma'am?" Kayo replied, looking over her shoulder at the older woman.

"Do you want to come with me?" she asked, knowing full-well the answer, even before the girl bolted over to her.

"Yes! Yes!" she screamed, not caring how embarrassing she looked at the moment with one boot half tied and her coat on the opposite sleeve, as well as she hadn't brushed her hair yet. "Please! I'll do anything to go see him."

"Alright," Sachiko said with a sad smile. "Go get cleaned up and leave your boots by the door until we are about to leave."

"Yes ma'am!" the girl shouted, hanging her coat by the door and dropping her boot with the other one in the rack by the door before bolting to the bathroom and brushing her hair and brushed her teeth, after Sachiko gave her a new toothbrush that she had 'just in case'.

After the two had cleaned up, Kayo couldn't contain her anxiety as they walked to the bus stop and throughout the entire bus ride. Sachiko would occasionally put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, but this helped little as Kayo mentally prepared herself to see Satoru again. She couldn't help the tears as they came and she held back the sobs as best she could.

Within an hour ride, and more than a dozen stops in between, they found themselves standing before a very amazing hospital. Kayo, who would normally have been in awe, simply stood at the crosswalk with Sachiko, silently waiting for the "Walk" light to turn green.

The journey to the building from the bus stop and inside to the room passed in a blur as Kayo and Sachiko moved with intent. Kayo could sense Sachiko's tension in the air around her and she found herself fearing for the worst as they suddenly found themselves standing before door 315. The nameplate read 'Satoru Fujinuma' and Kayo found herself taking in a deep breath and swallowing back a lump in her throat as Sachiko opened the door.

The scene before her made a catch in her throat as she saw Satoru, connected to an oxygen system that forced him to breath and a feeding system. She saw the wrapping on his head and heard the steady beeping of the heart-rate monitor but it all quickly died away as she looked upon the boy who'd saved her life, now only inches away from death, himself.

"Satoru..." she said softly, walking slowly towards the bed, uncertain if the world was going to spin uncontrollably and she'd be sucked into a new dimension or, even, wake up and find this all to be one horrible nightmare. However, as she approached the bed and reached out, feeling his ice cold hands against hers, she knew this wasn't a nightmare, but a horrifying reality.

Sachiko watched Kayo tentatively reach out for her son's hand and take it in hers, smiling sadly as the tears came forward. As she watched, Kayo got down on her knees beside his bed, clinging to his hand in both of hers as she began to sob uncontrollably, calling his name out in between sobs over and over.

From that day forward, Kayo began to tirelessly search for ways to help Satoru when she wasn't in school. She convinced her grandmother to allow her to spend every school day evening at the hospital with him. Then, she convinced the other students, which took little effort, to begin a fund raiser for him. She worked tirelessly for two weeks to begin the process and get Mr. Yashiro to allow her to start doing the fund raiser on school grounds.

About a week into this work, however, she walked into the hospital after school to visit him, as she spent every weekday evening doing. As she was about to turn down the hallway to his room, she overheard an older doctor speaking with Sachiko and she froze as she listened, her heart splitting in two.

"We're very sorry, ma'am," the doctor kept saying over and over again.

"Don't give me that bullshit!" Sachiko shouted, barely able to contain the sobs.

"We're sorry ma'am, but at this stage, he is only being allowed a chance to live by the machinery he is hooked up to," he explained, softly. "He is completely brain dead, according to our MRI results. If we were to take him off the machines, he would surely die. And there's no likely possibility of rec-"

"How dare you give up on him!" Kayo shouted as she came out from around the corner, tears flowing down her cheeks as she stared angrily at the doctor. "He saved my life and others! We can't give up on him!"

Sachiko, surprised by the girl, walked over to her and knelt down to her.

"Kayo, sweetie," she said, softly, brushing the girl's hair from her face before bringing her into a hug. "Thank you for supporting my Satoru, but this is an adult conversation, OK?"

Kayo nodded into her shoulder, still only being able to sob.

"Why don't you go say hi to Satoru, OK, sweetie?" Sachiko said, releasing her from the hug and holding her face in her hands, a sad smile on her face as tears rolled down her cheeks. "I'll stay here and talk to the doctor, while you go cheer Satoru on and keep him happy."

Kayo nodded and walked into the room, solemnly. She closed the door and dropped her backpack before walking to his side again and getting back down on her knees, holding his hand between hers as she cried out, still only able to feel an ice coolness to his flesh as she held his hand.

After a few minutes of crying, the girl finally quieted enough to actually begin to tell him of all the things his classmates were working on to help him and his mother through the tough times they were facing. As she was explaining all this to him, Sachiko walked in again, the doctor nowhere to be seen.

"Well, it's going to be expensive," she said, somewhat to Kayo but mostly to herself, "but I can buy the equipment and the medication to take care of him at home."

Kayo's eyes widened at the news, half out of happiness, and half of sadness at the realization of just how much Sachiko was sacrificing of her own life to keep her son alive, despite the slim to no chance of him making a recovery.

"I will gladly do whatever it takes to help you ma'am," she said, finally, after another few moments passed. "He saved my life from the murderer that tried to take his. It's the least I can do for him."

"Thank you so very much, Kayo," Sachiko said, softly, smiling and resting her hand on the girl's shoulder. "I can't, in good conscience, ask that of you, though. Besides, Satoru saved your life so you could live it. So why don't you go out there and live it?"

As she said this to Kayo, the girl's eyes watered again, more heavily this time.

"I don't want to move on without him!" she shouted, clasping his hand between hers again and sobbing against his bed. "I can't just leave him behind. I won't let this become a town without him!"

Sachiko's eyes widened slightly and she looked at the girl with surprise on her face.

"I can't just leave Satoru behind, ma'am," she sobbed, her body shaking as she said this.

With that, Sachiko smiled softly at the girl again before wrapping her in a deep hug again and finishing the visit as usual before the two headed back to her house and they called Kayo's grandmother to ensure it was alright that she stay the night there, which it was.

After that day, it took about a week and a half for the fund raiser to get into full swing with Kayo and Kenya leading the charge and Hiromi and Misato helping as frequently as they could. Around the same time, Sachiko finally managed to get the bed and other equipment set up inside her house, with Kayo's help, of course, and only a couple of weeks later, she had the medicine and her son back in his bedroom.

As the time passed, Kayo not only maintained her daily visits to the Fujinuma household, but also began to visit the special places that Satoru had taken her to to save her from her mother's abuse but, after a few weeks of this, she resorted to only visiting the old deciduous tree that Satoru had called the 'Christmas tree'. She made sure that, when it was wintertime, she always went at night, often taking her friends all out in the night air in winter and during the summertime she would take them all to sit and have lunch at the base of the large tree.

As the years passed and she found herself entering high school and getting a job, she wasn't able to keep up with her visits to the tree as often as she wanted to, but, even as her schedule soon filled, she maintained at least one visit a month to the tree. Her visits to Satoru also were affected by her busy schedule and she was only able to come see him on Sundays.

After she entered her junior year of high school, she was approached by Hiromi after school where he asked her to go on a date with him. This lead to them dating throughout the rest of their high school careers, but she could never stop thinking about Satoru, the first boy she'd ever truly loved. She felt as though it was wrong to move on like this and be happy. He was in a coma, not dead.

About a month after graduation, Hiromi and Kayo had gone to see a new movie and had also had an amazing dinner. As they returned to her home, they spoke a little more about the future and what they were going to do as far as university went.

"I'm going to become a doctor," he'd told her with a smile, knowing this would hit home with her.

"That sounds amazing," she'd said to him with a warm smile. After a few moments of silence, she cast her eyes towards the sky, the stars brilliantly casting their light upon them. "I was actually thinking about going to be a preschool teacher or maybe some other elementary level teacher."

"Oh..." he said, casting his eyes down at the ground, his expression unreadable.

"Well, anyway, I had a really good time, Hiro," she said with another smile. "Thank you ve-"

"Kayo, wait," he said, catching her hand as she turned to her front door. As she looked back at him, he got down on one knee, reaching into his pocket and producing a ring box. "Kayo Hinadzuki, will you do me the honor of making me the-"

"No," she replied, cutting him off sharply as she cast her face away so he couldn't see. "I'm sorry."

His smile evaporated and his eyes filled with warm tears.

"Kayo..." he said, knowing exactly why she'd rejected him.

"I'm sorry, Hiro," she said, still not meeting his gaze as she pulled her front door key out of her pocket. "I just... I can't..."

A burst of rage had filled him as he stood, tears flowing down his cheeks.

"He's not coming back, Kayo!" he shouted before he could even think about the words that had escaped his lips. As he realized what he'd said, he immediately regretted it.

Kayo stiffened at his outburst.

"I just... I wish you'd stop obsessing over him..." he started again, trying to sound less cruel this time. "Who knows when or if he'll wake up, Kayo?.. He would want you to be happy..."

As he continued on with this ranting, she had turned back around, her expression unreadable as she soon stood in front of him. As the last word escaped his lips, and before either of them knew what had happened, a loud slap rang through the air and he recoiled, holding his left cheek where she'd struck him. As he stood back up from the strike, he looked to see tears flowing down her face as she shook with anger before him.

"How dare you!" she shouted, closing the distance again as she punched him in the chest, a few sobs escaping her lips. "How fucking dare you!"

"I'm sorry, Kayo," he said, holding his arms out to her, but all she did was punch his chest over and over and over again.

"Leave!" she screamed, giving him one last, solid, full-strength punch to the chest, sending him reeling. "Get the fuck away from me! Just go away!"

He opened his mouth to object and further apologize but he could see the sheer rage in her eyes.

"I'm sorry," he said, softly, turning and walking away, back off to his house.

The rest of that night and on for a little while in the morning, she found herself in sobbing fits so devastating she couldn't even find the strength to stand, at some points.

After that night, she and Hiromi managed to become friends again, but their relationship disappeared and both of them knew it wasn't going to ever come back. The two decided to go to the same major university near the Chiba prefecture, which was also where Sachiko planned to move with Satoru to continue taking care of him. Hiro knew this was why the girl had chosen the university despite its low ratings.

A few years later, Hiro was qualified to practice family medicine and left university, at least for a little while, to begin practice, telling Kayo that he'd eventually return to become further qualified. She, on the other hand, after getting a basic education degree, moved back to her hometown and started teaching the fifth grade at their old school. Despite these things, however, she would always make a point to come visit Satoru in his bed at least once a month, or more if possible.

Before she even realized it, the years passed and it was 2003. Since returning to her hometown, she would make weekly, sometimes more frequent visits to the Christmas tree, often sitting below it and enjoying the sunlight and breeze on her skin.

Then, one day, she was in the middle of grading her students' tests from earlier that day, enjoying the sunlight streaming through the windows of the still-old building, when she received a call from Sachiko, who was nearly hysterical and had clearly been crying a lot before the call and cried throughout the call.

Panic filled her heart as she heard the woman spitting and sputtering on the phone, barely able to talk.

 _Did he die?!_ her mind screamed at her.

"Sachiko, Sachiko, please!" she yelled, too zealously. "Please just... just calm down and tell me what's going on!"

"K... Ka..." the woman sputtered, still having difficulty breathing. "Kayo! You have to come here right away!"

Kayo's eyes widened at the words, feeling her chest tighten and her stomach begin flipping.

"You mean..." she said softly as the world began to spin around her.

"It's Satoru!" Sachiko shouted into her ear. "My baby boy! He's awake!"

Kayo felt the phone drop from her hand and onto the desk, her eyes wide in shock. Before she even fully knew what she was doing, she was sprinting down the hallway, holding all of the tests as she ran into the faculty room. She dropped the tests onto her desk before sprinting into the principal's office. As soon as she'd heard about Satoru's change in condition from being in a 'vegetative state' to somehow being in a more sleep-like state, she'd informed the principal and asked that, if he were to wake, she be given the rest of whatever week it happened to be off, if possible. After having been working at this school for the last nearly four years, she'd earned a good enough reputation that the principal gladly allowed her to take the rest of the week off.

"You have five days," he told her, trying to keep a smile from his face. "Be back by next Monday."

"Yes sir! Thank you so much!" she nearly screamed as she sprinted out of the office, running down the hall.

Within three hours, she was on the express train, racing as fast as she could to the Chiba prefecture.

 _I'm coming Satoru,_ she thought to herself, holding her small bag's shoulder strap so tight her knuckles were turning white as she was barely able to contain her elation and excitement. The boy was awake. The boy who'd saved her life from a still-unknown murderer; the boy who tried to be her friend and kept her from ever feeling truly alone again; the boy who was more than happy to give away his life to protect hers; the only boy she'd ever **_truly_** loved.


	3. Chapter 3

**Erased/Boku dake ga Inai Machi**

 **KayoXSatoru**

 **Chapter 3: Reunion**

 _*Author's note: To all of my faithful readers, I greatly appreciate your dedication to me and my work. I put a lot of passion into my writing. It's my only escape from the horrible reality that I endure every day. Anyway, to get on to the real note, here: I just want to say that this will, obviously, differ a little from the way events unfolded in the manga and anime. I seriously debated having her and Hiro at least making a child together, even though I obviously didn't want their relationship to develop any further than it did. I think the baby could've done a lot to the emotional impact still of the reunion, but I'll still try to match, if not exceed, the emotional impact of her return in the manga and anime. Please enjoy and, if you like it, leave a positive review to keep me going. Also, please please PLEASE forgive the shortness of this chapter. I wanted to give you guys more to chew on and progress to further on as well. Thank you all so much for the love and please get all of your friends and family into "Erased" ! I want this show and manga to become a sensation! It deserves it, despite *SPOILER* Kayo and Satoru not ending up together .._

"I made your favorite from when you were little," she explained as she opened the boxes revealing her special, hamburgers and fried rice. "You used to beg me for this after school, every day."

As she tried to contain her sobs, he looked down at the box before him, the smells urging him to recall some distant memory just beyond the cusp of his capability.

"M..." he began, turning his head to face the woman.

His mother, not really hearing him, continued to pull the boxes from the bag and set one aside for the doctor.

"Mo..." he tried again, pushing himself so hard he could feel himself sweating at the exertion. As he watched her continue pulling chopsticks and silverware out of the bag, still clearly unable to hear him, he mustered the last of his strength, forcing all the air he could from his lungs in one last attempt.

"Mom?!" he asked, very much louder than he'd intended but he found himself indifferent to the volume as he watched his mother freeze with her hands on his tray, setting down chopsticks. He felt a damn burst within him, relief and sadness washing over him in quantities he couldn't quite understand, and his eyes filled to overflowing with tears almost instantly as he saw his mother slowly look up at him, tears in her eyes as well.

"Satoru..." she said, softly, bringing her hands to her mouth as the tears streamed down her face and she began to sob in joy. "My baby boy..."

The two embraced for a few minutes, as Sachiko held her child in her arms, the warmth of relief washing over her and bathing her in a joy that, in her entire life, had no comparison. She kissed her son on the top of his head as she held onto him and sobbed openly. Hearing the commotion, a nurse had nearly run through the door, before observing the reality of the situation, smiling and closing the door to give the mother some privacy with her son.

******* The Town Where I Am Missing *********

The next day, the warm sun rose to wake Satoru. He looked around his sterile hospital room, his eyes fell upon the sleeping form of his mother, her head resting on his legs and her hair in a crazy mess. He smiled softly down at her and another massive wave of relief washed over him. He furrowed his brow in slight confusion as his mind again wandered.

 _'Why am I feeling relieved? Did I believe she was going to leave? What is wrong with me?'_

These questions and more raced through his mind, even as he felt his mother stir and watched her sit up, rubbing her eyes.

"Good morning, Satoru," she said, smiling sleepily. "Did you sleep okay?"

"Yeah," he said, softly, his voice still straining with single words from being so unused for so long. He smiled back at his mom when a flash caught his attention from the corner of his eye and his attention snapped out the window. As he tried to see what it was, his mother stood and closed his curtains. He was about to object, when she explained.

"Stupid vultures," she said. "Those damn paparazzi have been hiding outside waiting to get some pictures and an interview with you since you awoke."

"Oh," he said, his eyes falling into his own lap.

"Hey," she said, walking over to sit in the chair beside his bed again. "I think I should go get us some breakfast. Would you like some eggs or toast or something?"

"I'm not very hungry," he said, wincing as his sore throat felt like sandpaper being rubbed against his windpipe.

His mother gave him a slightly worried look before she reached over for her purse and spoke again.

"Alright," she said, standing as she grabbed her purse. "I'm gonna bring you something anyway, though, in case you change your mind, ok?"

"Ok," he said, wincing again and rubbing his throat as he sat back in his bed.

"I'll be back soon, Satoru," she said, smiling as she walked out of the room.

Within fifteen minutes, she walked back into the room and brought him a cup of Jell-O, a cup of tapioca pudding, and a box of orange juice while she ate a small sandwich and had green tea.

"So, Satoru, I figured today would be ok to bring some of your friends to see you," she said after they sat and ate silently for a few minutes. "Is that ok with you?"

 _'Friends?'_ he thought to himself. _'I have friends? Who are they?'_

"Sure," he said, smiling at his mom.

"Ok," she said, smiling as she packed away all of their trash and tossed it into a trash can in the corner of his bedroom.

A couple of hours of the two sitting in relative silence passed before his mother received a phone call and stepped out. Within about five minutes, she returned with two men who smiled and almost cried at the sight of Satoru. He smiled back and waved. Satoru noticed his mother standing outside the door holding something in her hands as the two men came inside, a sad smile on her face as she held what looked like files in her hands.

"Yo, Satoru!" the blonde man said, smiling at him brilliantly. "It's about time you woke your ass up! How've you been?!"

"Well, I haven't been asleep by choice, you know!" he responded, intending it to be funny and mildly confused at the tension created by the minor joke.

"Do you remember us?" the other man said, smiling sadly at his friend.

Satoru looked at him for a moment, thinking for a long minute about it. As he watched their faces dropping into sad smiles, two names started to materialize in his mind and he slowly said them.

"K...Ken..." he began, noticing the blonde's eyes widen and his smile brighten significantly. "Ken...ya?"

"Satoru!" Kenya yelled and embraced the man in the bed. The two shared the embrace for a while before they broke apart and Satoru looked at the darker haired man with very soft features and feminine eyes.

"H...Hi..." he said, his voice getting scratchier with every attempt. "Hiromi!"

Hiromi's eyes watered and he looked as though he were about to burst into uncontrollable sobbing then and there. Satoru smiled at his friend and held out his arms, which Hiromi walked into happily and they hugged for a moment before letting each other go. As they broke apart, he saw his mother on the phone again, a smile on her face as she spoke to whoever it was and Satoru smiled too.

The three friends spent the rest of the afternoon talking about random things and telling stories. Many times, Satoru would be listening to one of them tell him a story and he would get so caught up in it, he could remember it actually happening and seeing them go through it. He even finished one of their stories at one point, much to the other men's surprise. As they looked at him curiously, he had to come up with completely ridiculous lies, like that he figured that that's how things would go, knowing those guys.

All the while, Satoru couldn't help but feel more and more lost as to why he knew so many things that he couldn't possibly have seen or been present for. After the other two men left, he sat in his bed, staring off at the ceiling for long periods of time silently, his mind abuzz with confusion and curiosity.

 _'How the hell do I have these memories?! I can't possibly have been there!"_ he shouted in his mind, a mild panic settling into his heart. He felt the doors to his memories still sealed tightly and he grimaced in frustration.

"Satoru?" his mother said, sitting next to him on his bed after escorting his old friends back to the parking lot.

"Yeah?" he said, looking at her and trying not to look so angry or confused.

"Are you ok?" she asked, not breaking their eye contact. "Do you want me to call your doctor?"

"No, I'm fine," he said leaning back on the bed as he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He opened them back up and looked out the window, noticing how dark it had gotten in what felt like such a short time.

"Think you can weather one more visitor today or should I tell her to come back tomorrow?"

 _'Her?!'_ he found his curiosity piqued. "No, mom, I'm ok. I will see her whenever she wants to."

Almost as if she'd been waiting for that line, a beautiful young woman walked through the door. She was exactly his age with shoulder length brown almost black hair, dark brown eyes, and a soft, small, yet loving smile.

"Hello, Satoru," Kayo Hinadzuki said, smiling at him with small tears rolling down her cheeks and her eyes slightly red from many long fits of crying. He sat up straight in his bed and, for some reason, even though he couldn't quite remember her name, even though it was right at the tip of his tongue and he was unable to remember any of their lives together, he felt himself reaching out for her and he felt warm tears running down his cheeks, his heart warming at the very sight of her.

He smiled brightly, suddenly finding her name in some deep recess of his mind and, despite his body shaking and his choked sobs rolling from his lips, he said her name softly.

"Hey, Kayo."


	4. Chapter 4

**Erased/Boku Dake Ga Inai Machi**

 **KayoXSatoru**

 **Chapter 4:**

"Hello, Satoru," Kayo Hinadzuki said, smiling at him with small tears rolling down her cheeks and her eyes slightly red from many long fits of crying. He sat up straight in his bed and, for some reason, even though he couldn't quite remember her name, even though it was right at the tip of his tongue and he was unable to remember any of their lives together, he felt himself reaching out for her and he felt warm tears running down his cheeks, his heart warming at the very sight of her.

He smiled brightly, suddenly finding her name in some deep recess of his mind and, despite his body shaking and his choked sobs rolling from his lips, he said her name softly.

"Hey, Kayo."

Kayo stood silently, tears streaming down her face as she covered her mouth. A wave of relief washed away her fear that he wouldn't be able to remember her and she slowly walked towards his bed. Sachiko smiled at her and offered her the chair next to the bed before she walked out to go to the cafeteria. Kayo sat in comfortable silence with Satoru for a moment.

"So..." they both said in unison by accident before they laughed slightly and, again, spoke in unison, saying, "No go ahead."

After they got done laughing, Kayo smiled and looked into his eyes.

"I can't thank you enough, Satoru," she said, softly. "You saved me, in so many ways."

"It's no big deal," he said, laughing slightly. He couldn't even feel the soreness of his throat as he spoke to her.

"It's a huge deal, to me," she said, her gaze intense as she looked into his eyes. "Thanks to you, I'm still alive and I have had a chance to live a great life!"

Satoru smiled slightly and his hand lifted from the bed. Kayo watched and saw it reaching out so she took it in hers. It had been years since she'd held a man's hand, and she found herself blushing furiously as they held each others' hands. She looked up and saw a slight pink tint on his cheeks as well and she couldn't help but smile seeing how nervous he was.

"I'm so glad you're back," she said, gently squeezing his hand. "I've missed you so much."

"I'm sorry for causing you any sorrow or pain," he said, his face dropping slightly and a solemn air surrounding him.

Kayo shook her head slightly.

"Don't be," she said, tears flowing down her face again as she looked back into his eyes, her lower lip quivering as she spoke. "You came back. That's the important part."

With that, Kayo stood and wrapped her arms around a surprised Satoru. He froze for a second while she wrapped herself around him before he pulled his arms up and over her, weakly. He smiled as they held each other, enjoying how warm she was and how nice she smelled. He barely had the arm strength to hold onto her for much longer but he tried his best, clinging to her like a liferaft in the massive ocean.

After a few minutes of him holding onto her like their lives depended on it, him stroking her soft, short hair as she sobbed tears of joy and of relief into his chest, they released each other and she wiped her eyes.

"Oh, god," she said, as she wiped her eyes. "So where to begin!"

Satoru smiled at her softly and leaned back on his pillows listening to her speaking.

As Kayo continued talking to him, she told him all of the things he'd missed in the time he'd been in a coma. At one point, to their mutual confusion, she had begun to tell the story of how Kazu had started a fight with kids from another school and Kenya had gotten a pretty bad cut on his forehead from it.

"Yeah, yeah!" Satoru had said, laughing. "Hiromi stanched it with some Vaseline so the teachers wouldn't find out!"

"Um... Satoru?" Kayo had said, her eyes wide with confusion as she spoke.

"Ah.." he said, "Hiro and Kenya were here earlier and told me about it too!"

"Oh..." she responded, a hint of doubt in her voice as she looked quizzically at him.

She continued regaling him with stories of school and, to his confusion, he had to force himself from speaking out and finishing many of the stories she told.

After almost an hour had passed, a nurse came into the room to notify them that visitor hours were almost up and that she'd have to be leaving soon.

"Well, I guess," Kayo said, pulling on a stocking cap and wrapping a scarf around her neck. "I'll be heading out."

"Going home?" he asked, with a smile.

"No. I've arranged to stay with a friend near here," she smiled back. "I am currently living back in our home town, and working as an elementary school teacher at our old school."

"Oh wow," he said. He quickly replaced the surprised expression he had with a smile again. "Well, be safe. I'll see you again soon."

"Are you an idiot?" she said, frowning.

For a moment, he was confused and thought she was angry with him for something.

"You'll see me tomorrow as soon as visiting hours start," she said, switching to a smile. She hugged him again, her body shuddering slightly as they held each other and he reached up gently and stroked her hair. He enjoyed the perfume she'd worn; a combination of lavender and lilac. Her hair was soft against his face. He couldn't stand the thought that she was leaving for the night.

They broke their embrace and a slight blush glowed across the bridge of her nose and her cheeks, as well as his own and they smiled at each other again as she pulled on her stocking cap, coat and gloves. She slid open the door to the room and waved at him again as he watched her leave.

Once she'd left, his mother walked in and sat down next to him, smiling at her son.

"Seems like you two plan on picking up where you left off," she said, smirking as he blushed in embarrassment from her statement.

"Mom," he said, indignantly. Then, he started reaching around himself, softly, searching for something and his mother gave him a quizzical look.

"What are you looking for?" she asked, standing and taking his hand.

"My glasses," he said, looking around himself more. "Have you seen my-"

His mother's face couldn't have been more confused as she looked into his eyes.

"You don't wear glasses sweetie," she said.

"Oh," he said, grabbing his forehead briefly and rubbing it. "Oh yeah. I don't know why I thought I did."

He tried to laugh it off, but knew his mother was unconvinced, even as she handed him a pencil and paper so he could draw a picture before she gave him a kiss and went to her apartment for the night.

Once his mother left, his nurse came into his room and started preparing him for bed. When she reached for the light switch, he held up his hand so she knew he didn't want the light off.

"Can I have another half an hour please?" he asked as the nurse gave him an exasperated look.

"Ok," she said. "You have until I come back through my rounds. Once I come by this room again, the lights go out."

He nodded his understanding as he continued his sketch.

He imagined Kayo, her beautiful face as she stood smiling in the door at him. He imagined her beautiful eyes as she came forward and embraced him. He felt his hands working almost autonomously as he felt his heart soaring at the thought of her and he felt something in his mind racing; memories hidden behind a veil of mist and obscuring their image.

As the nurse came back in his doorway, announcing she was about to turn off the lights, he took a look at the picture he'd drawn and felt his blood run cold and his eyes went wide. He wasn't sure how he managed to hold the book despite his surprise.

"What the hell is going on?" he whispered, not loud enough for the nurse to hear as she turned out the lights.

 ** _*** Author's note: This is property of the original author and studio that produced the anime and the manga. Thank you to all of my devoted fans on here. I am sorry for the long wait for this chapter post and I will begin working on the next chapter as soon as possible for you guys. Thanks for your devotion again and I hope this chapter can sate your hunger until this weekend when I hope to post the next chapter. ***_**


	5. Chapter 5

**Erased/Boku Dake Ga Inai Machi**

 **KayoXSatoru**

 **Chapter 5:**

 **Author's note:** The following is based on the small extension series for Erased, called Boku Dake Ga Inai Machi Gaiden. If you haven't read it, you will likely not understand what is happening within this chapter. I advise you read the manga before this chapter, and read the Erased manga before reading any of the fanfic. That said, this chapter will be a little emotional. So please enjoy.

Kayo stood before the door of the small apartment, silently. She faced the stairwell, waiting for her host to return anxiously. She felt her chest tightening, despite all of the great news and happiness of the day. She felt her heart racing as she heard the footsteps coming up the stairs and looked up from her gradually further downcast eyes to see Satoru's mother walking up, and she met the older woman's eyes.

"Hey Kayo," she said, smiling. "Sorry for making you wait so long. I just got back from the hospital."

"I know," Kayo answered, forcing a smile across her face. The note inside her luggage felt like it weighed a ton as she followed his mother into the door, pulling her luggage behind her.

As Ms. Fujinuma took off her coat and hung it up, and took off her shoes, she smiled over her shoulder at Kayo.

"I was thinking about making some hamburgers," she said. "Would you like some dinner?"

Kayo nodded silently as she followed her elder's example and took of her shoes and coat.

"Are you feeling alright?" Ms. Fujinuma asked her, turning and giving her a perplexed look. "You seem upset, or maybe sick."

"I'm fine," Kayo said, shortly. She pulled her luggage up and looked into her eyes. "Where is the guest room?"

"Oh, well," she answered, leading Kayo to an adjacent room. "We don't really have a 'guest room', but I managed to get all of the rented equipment packed up and returned, so you can sleep in Satoru's old room, if you'd like."

Kayo's eyes widened as she saw the mattress, clean and with fresh linen. She slowly walked up to the bed, kneeling down and placing her hand on it as she thought of how Satoru had spent so many years lying in this exact bed after his mother had taken him away. She felt her chest tightening again and had to force an image of him sitting upright in his bed, alive and healthy, to chase away the sad memories.

"If you don't feel comfortable here-" Ms. Fujinuma started.

"This is fine," Kayo cut her off, not looking back at the older woman.

After a long moment of Kayo sitting beside the empty mattress and Ms. Fujinuma standing in the doorway, Ms. Fujinuma clapped her hands together, startling Kayo slightly. She turned and saw the older woman brush some invisible dust off of herself.

"Well, now that we have you situated for your stay," she said, smiling, "how about we get to making some dinner?"

Kayo nodded solemnly at the older woman, leaving her luggage in the room and following her out the door, taking another glance at the room before they went to the kitchen.

"So," she said, trying to make conversation as Sachiko started prepping the ground beef, mixing various seasonings together and kneading them into the meat. "How much do you pay in rent every month for this place?"

"I pay about fifty thousand yen a month plus utilities," Sachiko answered, looking at the younger woman. "Why? Planning on moving?"

"Not right now," she answered, washing some uncut green beans and filling a pot with water to boil them.

"How have you been, Kayo?" Sachiko asked, forming the hamburgers as she looked at the younger woman, who was prepping a pan for her to fry them in.

"I've been managing to stay busy as a teacher," she answered, pouring a light amount of vegetable oil into the pan, still not meeting Sachiko's eyes.

"I see." Sachiko seemed to think for a long time on what to say next as she laid down the hamburgers into the oil and started frying them. "So how are the others?"

"I wouldn't know," Kayo said, quietly, getting the rice cooker started. "I haven't kept in touch with most of them since we graduated high school."

"I see," she responded, absently. "What ever happened to you and Hiromi?"

Kayo felt her heart beating fast and a frown quickly grew on her face as she looked at her.

"We broke up a long time ago," she said, angrily. "Why?"

"You two seemed so cute together," Sachiko said as she returned her attention to the burgers in the pan. "I actually could've pictured the two of you getting married and having at least one baby together."

"Well it didn't work out," she said, anger starting to fill her voice.

The two fell silent the rest of the time they took cooking their meal. Not another word was spoken as they set the table and brought the food to the table. Neither even spoke as they served themselves dinner.

As they both bowed their hands and said their thanks for the meal, Kayo's anger finally got the better of it and she slammed the hand she held her chopsticks in down onto the table.

"WHY?!" she said, looking into the older woman's eyes, who stared at her, an unreadable expression on her face. "I know why you said you did it but GOD DAMN IT. Why did you take him away?!"

Tears streamed down Kayo's face as her eyes stayed locked on Sachiko's. Sachiko's expression remained unreadable and Kayo's anger flared up again.

"I only wanted to help him after he'd saved me," she yelled out. "I just wanted to pay him back! He'd done so much for me and you took him away before I could even _remotely_ have paid him back for everything!"

After another brief moment of silence, Sachiko sighed, setting her chopsticks down and looking to Kayo's eyes, sadness showing deep in her eyes.

"Could you really have told me you would've lived a full life if I'd have stayed there with Satoru?" she spoke, tears silently building in her eyes.

Kayo felt her anger waning, slightly and found herself unable to meet the firm, yet sad gaze locked on her.

"I owe him so much," she said, softly.

"You know he wants you to live your life to the fullest," Sachiko said, a tear rolling down her cheek. "That was the only payment that you could've given him that would've made him truly happy."

Kayo's chest tightened again as her eyes were cast down.

"Do you think he would've been happy to see you today if you'd have told him you'd wasted fifteen years sitting at his bedside, waiting for the day that he woke up?" Sachiko spoke, softly, her voice breaking slightly.

Kayo saw her vision blurring as she tried to hold back the tears burning in her eyes. She felt her body starting to tremble with locked up sobs and nearly jumped when she felt Sachiko's arm wrap around her and pull her into a warm, motherly embrace.

"Shh, dear," she said, rocking back and forth slowly as Kayo clung to her like her life depended on it. Tears slid down her cheeks and landed in the younger woman's hair as she lightly stroked her hair. "He's awake now. That's all that matters, right?"

With that, both of the women began sobbing tears of disbelieving joy into each other.

So many years of pain and waiting.

Finally, the tragedy was over...


	6. Chapter 6

**Erased/Boku Dake Ga Inai Machi**

 **KayoXSatoru**

 **Chapter 6:**

 _ ***Author's Note:**_ _I have returned with a new chapter, most of it is from the manga. I will be trying to finish another chapter by the end of this weekend for this story and, if possible, finish up with the resolution of capturing the murderer. I greatly appreciate the fans who like my work and I strive to write more for all of you. I am also working on an original story and would appreciate any help, encouragement or anything I can get. The story I am working on is quite massive and, to be honest, is more of a task than I, alone, can handle. I am continuously doing research as I prepare for my transition out of the military and back into a civilian life. I hope that it will spark all of your interest like my stories. Also, if you like this story, please check out my other fanfics for Bleach and a few other anime, movies, books and more. Thank you and enjoy._

Kayo and Sachiko sat next to the bed, both exhausted as they sat there. It had been over a year since he'd slipped back into the coma. The doctors were uncertain what had happened as he'd been doing so well up to that point and his recovery was on track. Kayo had had to go back to work but she'd called every day asking Sachiko about his status. It had been May of 2005 that she'd decided to take another trip to see him. She wasn't sure exactly why she'd felt the need to go at that time but the principal of the school was happy to allow her to go again.

There she was, lying beside him in his bed, waiting and hoping for him to awaken, when, suddenly, she felt him stirring and she turned to face him and she saw him looking at the thousand paper cranes made by Kumi.

"Those are paper cranes Kumi-chan made," Kayo said, watching him turn his head to look at her and he smiled softly. "She stopped by this afternoon."

"G...g-g...glad to s..ss..see you," he stammered out with a slight smile.

"That's our line," Sachiko said, with a smile, as she stood from her makeshift bed on the floor, resting her hand on Kayo's shoulder. Both had tears in their eyes. "Don't make us too worried."

"O...oookay," he said, smiling again. "S..ssor..sorry."

After a moment, he looked at Kayo who brushed a hair from his face.

"How many days did I sleep?" he asked.

"How many days was it?" she asked Sachiko who gave a thoughtful glance before responding "Three hundred eighty six."

"What?" he asked, his eyes wide.

"Yeah," Kayo answered. "It's May eleventh, two-thousand five."

"So that's why I have trouble speaking," he said, after a moment. He looked at his arms and legs. "And why I can't move my body."

Kayo took his hand in hers gently.

"You'll have to start rehabilitation all over again," she said, squeezing his hand gently.

****Erased****

Kenya stood on the stairs next to Satoru as he spoke about his vivid memories of having lived a life where others had died instead of him going into the coma. He presented his theory to Satoru and they spoke a bit more about seeing if he could possibly find the memory of his attempted murderer. After they finished their discussion, he left and Satoru took his walker down to the courtyard to continue his rehabilitation exercises within sight of Kayo and his mother who both smiled.

"Satoru-san!" came a shout from nearby and Satoru turned to see Kumi running towards him. She stopped in front of him and smiled. "It's been a long time!"

"Long time no see, Kumi-chan!" he said happily smiling as he took a seat in the grass beside her. "Thanks for the thousand paper cranes."

She took a seat next to him and smiled.

"You're welcome."

"I'm guessing your operation went well," he said, noticing her full head of blonde hair.

"Yep," she said, smiling wider. "Thanks to you, I wasn't scared. Hard to believe it's already been a year since then. Now all I have to do is take pills and have a test every month. They say eight out of ten times is a full recovery!"

"That's great!" he said.

The two made idol chat while, unbeknownst to them, a figure approached from the shadows.

Satoru's eyes focused on a toy strapped to her bag, which Kumi noticed and held it up for him.

"Onee-chan gave this to me," she said with a smile. "The one that punched the guy with the camera a year ago. You remember right?"

"Airi..." he said, his eyes losing focus as he thought of the timeline where she'd saved him. He was suddenly snapped free from his thoughts as the two of them felt drops of rain strike them.

"Oh no!" Kumi spoke, "It's raining."

Satoru stood shakily and began walking towards the hospital as Kumi grabbed her bag.

"Satoru, you keep walking and I'll get an umbrella from inside," she shouted. She didn't make it very far before a stranger appeared before her holding up an umbrella.

"Here, use this," he said with a smile, his hair matted down somewhat by the rain and some stuck to his glasses. He wore a black t-shirt and had a goatee and wore a jacket and a loose-fitting pair of pants. He winked at the girl as she took it and said, "You should get it to him fast."

"Thank you!" she shouted, rushing back to Satoru with the umbrella in hand.

Satoru's eyes focused on the man who walked through the hospital's park. He couldn't help the feeling of familiarity from the man as he watched him, but his thoughts were disrupted when he saw Kumi running back with an umbrella in her hands and yelling his name. He looked at her in surprise.

"That was really fast," he said, inching forward with his walker.

"There was a stranger that loaned me his umbrella right there," she said, pointing just ahead of them, but there was no one there. "Huh? Did he go inside?"

Satoru remained silent as he turned his head towards the direction he'd seen that man walking moments before. An ominous feeling settled over him as he cast his eyes forward again.


End file.
